U.S. House Works to Stop Federal Takeover of Public Schools
by Donna Garner
January 17, 2012
January 17, 2012
Today, the House Education and Workforce Committee, chaired by U. S. Congressman John Kline, announced their intent to pass two new draft
proposals that will streamline federal bureaucracy and reduce the federal footprint in K-12 education.
These two pieces of legislation are called “The Student Success Act” and the “Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act.” (To read these two
draft proposals and the five-part document, please click on the links further on down this page.) To learn more about the Obama administration’s takeover of the public schools, please read “Let’s Get Off the National Standards Train” published on
2.24.11 by Henry W. Burke and Donna Garner -- http://alicelinahan.net/2011/05/11/lets-get-off-the-national-standards-train-2/.
proposals that will streamline federal bureaucracy and reduce the federal footprint in K-12 education.
These two pieces of legislation are called “The Student Success Act” and the “Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act.” (To read these two
draft proposals and the five-part document, please click on the links further on down this page.) To learn more about the Obama administration’s takeover of the public schools, please read “Let’s Get Off the National Standards Train” published on
2.24.11 by Henry W. Burke and Donna Garner -- http://alicelinahan.net/2011/05/11/lets-get-off-the-national-standards-train-2/.
Finally Congress has listened to grassroots citizens who have been agonizing for more than two years about the Obama administration’s takeover of
the public schools through Common Core Standards and Race to the Top.
the public schools through Common Core Standards and Race to the Top.
On 12.28.11, I wrote an article entitled “ Feds To Be Able To Track Your School Children’s Personal Information”
http://educationviews.org/2011/12/28/feds-to-be-able-to-track-your-school-childrens-personal-information/
in which I stated:
in which I stated:
The Obama administration’s federal takeover of the public schools is finally beginning to resonate across this country. The New York Post article
dated 12.27.11 and entitled “How the Feds Are Tracking Your Kid” (posted at the bottom of this page) should make every parent in America furious. “As of Jan. 3, 2012,
interstate and intergovernmental access to your child’s personal information will be practically unlimited. The federal government will have a de facto
nationwide database of supposedly confidential student information.”
dated 12.27.11 and entitled “How the Feds Are Tracking Your Kid” (posted at the bottom of this page) should make every parent in America furious. “As of Jan. 3, 2012,
interstate and intergovernmental access to your child’s personal information will be practically unlimited. The federal government will have a de facto
nationwide database of supposedly confidential student information.”
The national database is a part of the Common Core Standards (and Race to the Top). The Common Core Standards initiative includes national standards, national
assessments, national curriculum, teachers’ salaries tied to students’ test scores, teachers teaching to the test each and every day, national
indoctrination of public school children, and a national database of intrusive information on all public school students and teachers.
assessments, national curriculum, teachers’ salaries tied to students’ test scores, teachers teaching to the test each and every day, national
indoctrination of public school children, and a national database of intrusive information on all public school students and teachers.
_________________________________________________________________
E-mailed today, 1.17.12, by Congressman John Kline, Chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee:
Part 4: Ten Years Later, A Better Way Forward for
K-12 Schools
Ending the Education Secretary's Overreach
K-12 Schools
Ending the Education Secretary's Overreach
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Late last year, the U.S. Secretary of Education took unprecedented action and announced a plan that would allow the administration to unilaterally dictate federal education policy
without Congressional input.
Secretary Arne Duncan’s plan to grant waivers for certain requirements under No Child Left Behind in exchange for states adopting the administration’s
preferred education agenda has been called “the most sweeping use of executive authority to rewrite federal education law since Washington expanded its
involvement in education in the 1960s” by the New York Times.
In the Washington Post, George Will likened the plan to “coercive federalism”:
without Congressional input.
Secretary Arne Duncan’s plan to grant waivers for certain requirements under No Child Left Behind in exchange for states adopting the administration’s
preferred education agenda has been called “the most sweeping use of executive authority to rewrite federal education law since Washington expanded its
involvement in education in the 1960s” by the New York Times.
In the Washington Post, George Will likened the plan to “coercive federalism”:
George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation was the eighth reauthorization of the [Elementary and Secondary Education Act]. It is due for
a ninth, but the Obama administration considers the Republican-controlled House of Representatives icky and the separation of powers tiresome, so it is
dispensing with legislation in favor of coercion — what has been called “coercive federalism.”
a ninth, but the Obama administration considers the Republican-controlled House of Representatives icky and the separation of powers tiresome, so it is
dispensing with legislation in favor of coercion — what has been called “coercive federalism.”
Already, this conditional waivers plan has generated great uncertainty for state and local education officials. States that opt in to the plan will be
forced to dedicate time and limited resources to implement a host of new federal regulations. However, the requirements could be easily changed by
Congress, Secretary Duncan, or the next administration, potentially rendering a state’s investment in changing its education system meaningless.
Montana’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau told Education Week the secretary’s waiver proposal fails to fix “the biggest broken pieces of No Child Left
Behind,” adding, “Taking on additional requirements to get a waiver that isn’t really a waiver doesn’t seem smart.”
Making matters worse, the secretary's waiver plan – similar to his ill-fated Race to the Top program – pressures states to adopt common academic standards and tests
in reading and math, creating de facto national standards and national tests. This one-size-fits-all approach usurps the power of local superintendents,
school boards, and parents who know more about what kids need to learn than bureaucrats in Washington.
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has said the secretary's actions are "a temporary band-aid on a problem
that must be resolved through legislation – not executive fiat.”
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans are determined to fix current education law the right way – with smart legislative policies that will have a
lasting impact. Toward that effort, Republicans recently released two pieces of draft legislation to overhaul No Child Left Behind. In addition to provisions that support
state-developed accountability systems and a smaller federal footprint in education, the legislation includes four provisions that rein in the authority of
the Secretary of Education and preserve state and local control. The legislation:
forced to dedicate time and limited resources to implement a host of new federal regulations. However, the requirements could be easily changed by
Congress, Secretary Duncan, or the next administration, potentially rendering a state’s investment in changing its education system meaningless.
Montana’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau told Education Week the secretary’s waiver proposal fails to fix “the biggest broken pieces of No Child Left
Behind,” adding, “Taking on additional requirements to get a waiver that isn’t really a waiver doesn’t seem smart.”
Making matters worse, the secretary's waiver plan – similar to his ill-fated Race to the Top program – pressures states to adopt common academic standards and tests
in reading and math, creating de facto national standards and national tests. This one-size-fits-all approach usurps the power of local superintendents,
school boards, and parents who know more about what kids need to learn than bureaucrats in Washington.
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has said the secretary's actions are "a temporary band-aid on a problem
that must be resolved through legislation – not executive fiat.”
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans are determined to fix current education law the right way – with smart legislative policies that will have a
lasting impact. Toward that effort, Republicans recently released two pieces of draft legislation to overhaul No Child Left Behind. In addition to provisions that support
state-developed accountability systems and a smaller federal footprint in education, the legislation includes four provisions that rein in the authority of
the Secretary of Education and preserve state and local control. The legislation:
1. Prohibits the secretary from imposing conditions on states and school districts in exchange for a waiver of federal K-12 education law; this includes any condition affecting academic standards and assessments,
accountability systems, or teacher and principal evaluations;
accountability systems, or teacher and principal evaluations;
2. Prohibits the secretary from demanding changes to state standards or influencing and coercing states into entering
partnerships with other states;
partnerships with other states;
3. Removes the secretary's authority to add new, open-ended requirements to federal programs, preventing the secretary from
burdening states and districts through the regulatory process; and
burdening states and districts through the regulatory process; and
4. Sets specific procedures the secretary must follow when issuing federal regulations and conducting peer review processes
for grant applications, including publicly releasing the identity of peerreviewers, thereby ensuring greater transparency.
for grant applications, including publicly releasing the identity of peerreviewers, thereby ensuring greater transparency.
We cannot allow the Obama administration to implement a backdoor education agenda.
It’s time to advance real change in our nation’s education system.
It’s time to advance real change in our nation’s education system.
The Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act provide states and school districts with a clear path forward that will help get more effective
teachers in the classroom, enhance accountability, and raise the bar on student achievement.
Last week, House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans put out a series of documents outlining how the new proposals benefit children and families, protect schools from overly
prescriptive federal mandates, and encourage innovation in the classroom.
teachers in the classroom, enhance accountability, and raise the bar on student achievement.
Last week, House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans put out a series of documents outlining how the new proposals benefit children and families, protect schools from overly
prescriptive federal mandates, and encourage innovation in the classroom.
To see these documents in the series, click the links below:
Part 1: New Republican Proposals Advance Education Reform -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274227
Part 2: Returning Responsibility for Student Achievement to State and Local Leaders -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274311
Part 3: Supporting Effective Teachers in Every Classroom -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274637
Part 4: Ending the Education Secretary's Overreach -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274738
Part 5: Reviewing the Facts -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274871
Part 2: Returning Responsibility for Student Achievement to State and Local Leaders -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274311
Part 3: Supporting Effective Teachers in Every Classroom -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274637
Part 4: Ending the Education Secretary's Overreach -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274738
Part 5: Reviewing the Facts -- http://edworkforce.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274871
To read the two draft proposals, please go to
Student Success Act: http://edworkforce.house.gov/UploadedFiles/The_Student_Success_Act.pdf
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